grill

n.

"gridiron," 1680s, from French gril, from Old French greil, alteration of graille "grill, frating, railings, fencing," from Latin craticula "gridiron, small griddle," diminutive of cratis "wickerwork," perhaps from PIE *kert- "to turn, entwine." In many instances, Modern English grill is a shortened form of grille, such as "chrome front of an automobile."

grille

n.

"ornamental grating," 1660s, from French grille (fem.) "grating," from Old French greille "gridiron," from Latin craticula "gridiron" (see grill). "The distinction in French between grille and grill ... appears to date from about the 16th c." [OED].

grill

v.

"to broil on a grill," 1660s, from grill (n.); figurative sense from 1842, and the specific (transitive) sense of "to subject to intense questioning" is first attested 1894. Related: Grilled; grilling.